


All they have in common

by keepfacepalm



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, split personality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 10:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8530114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepfacepalm/pseuds/keepfacepalm
Summary: Steve finds Bucky and brings him to the Avengers Tower. The Winter Soldier is a thing that exist, and he and Barnes have only one thing in common. Well. Maybe two. Not Civil War compliant. Soulmate AU where first words your soulmate says to you are written somewhere on your body.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have a beta and English is my second language, so, if anyone wants to help me with that it's be great.

All that The Winter Soldier and James Barnes have in common is the body. They are different people, with different personalities, different lives, different opinions, and even mostly different memories.

Bucky Barnes does not have a soulmate. His skin stays clear of any words for all his life, in any century. Blanks are rare, but not unheard of. They just… have to suck it up and deal with the fact that no one ever will complete them. He tried to get into relationships, but failed every single time – none of them were right, none of them were _his_.

The Soldier has a soulmate. His skin stays clear of any words, but his metal arm – the part that made him The Winter Soldier, bears precise writing of an engineer. “ **What a beautiful… wait. What?** ” appeared on his arm when Tony Stark took his first breath. No matter how many times Hydra technicians replaced metal plates, the words came back.

Barnes recovers, through sheer force of will picks up the pieces of his broken mind and puts them together. He goes to therapy. He builds new relationship with this new Steve, not the same that than what they had when they were young, but they both have changed. He adjusts to life in this century, life after brainwashing, torture, and what had he done. He makes peace with himself.

The Soldier learns what is free will, concepts of good and evil, all things that are obvious for any human. He learns, he explores, he adapts. He builds relationship with Tony – learns what love, trust, happiness is. He was a weapon, but he comes as close to an actual person as it gets. He’s more like an AI, and Friday is still more human than he is, but that’s great progress.

Bucky picks up his old habit of following Steve everywhere and helping the idiot out of troubles. No matter what happened to him, he is ready to fight for justice and his best friend again. He passes all tests and evaluations; he charms public and high ups. He gives interviews, talks about his struggle to get back his life, inspires people. He becomes an Avenger.

Fighting is what The Soldier does best. Yes, he learns that there is more to his life than just orders, but he is what he is. He enjoys training, enjoys feeling of weapons on his body, enjoys completing a mission. He passes all tests and evaluations; his skills, knowledge, and experience are acknowledged as extremely valuable. He becomes an agent of the new SHIELD.

Bucky makes new friends. He gets into loud and joyous competitions with Thor. He plays video games, and starts prank wars with Clint. He spars with Natasha, and finds a kindred spirit in her, because she went through similar crap. He gets close to Sam, who along with Steve helps him through his bad days.

The Soldier makes friends. He grows extremely protective of Pepper, acts as her bodyguard when situation calls for it, and even teams up with her to make Tony do things for SI. He plays strategic games with Rhodey and they get Tony out of troubles together. He gets along with Maria Hill and helps her to train agents sometimes. He gains Fury’s trust and they go out for drinks occasionally.

Bucky discards idea of dating someone pretty quickly. He gets lots of attention, sure, but he doesn’t feel the pull towards anyone. His skin is clear apart from scars, and he doesn’t see a point to be with someone who is not a soulmate. Because he has a lot of baggage, there is always risk that his lover will have an ulterior motive or will be used against him, and… it feels extremely shitty towards Tony and The Soldier. His body doesn’t crave pleasure (he tries not to think why), and he has enough people in his life not to feel lonely.

The Soldier has a soulmate. The words on his metal arm are the most sacred, the most incredible thing in existence. He trembles every time he thinks about the treasure he was given. His soul screams in utter devotion every time he sees Tony’s smile directed at him, every time in downs on him just how kind, brilliant, and _good_ his lover is.

The Winter Soldier and Bucky Barnes have separate lives, separate rooms, separate interests, and all they have in common is the body.

However…

There are times when Bucky Barnes wakes up and tries to catch Tony Stark’s scent on his skin.

But The Soldier always carefully washes all traces away before giving control.

There are times when Bucky Barnes seeks Tony Stark to talk, to befriend.

But The Soldier made it clear to his soulmate that he wishes to separate Barnes from their life, and his wish is always respected.

There are times when Bucky Barnes stands naked before the mirror and wills the words to appear somewhere on his body (in precise writing of an engineer).

But The Soldier has something that is his and his only, that will never be taken away (like everything else was taken, again and again).

Life goes on, and skin stays clear and metal stays marked.

All they have in common is the body.

**Author's Note:**

> Long time ago I had an idea and wrote it down. Today on a train I revisited it, and tried to finish it. I failed, but wrote two other fics that have some similarities (because they were supposed to be one fic).


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